


still take you home

by taeyomi (buttercream)



Series: free, we're so free (nct college au) [3]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M, college party, johnny is a cereal killer, kun is scary, ten is a drunk mess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-03
Updated: 2018-04-03
Packaged: 2019-04-17 17:44:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14194308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/buttercream/pseuds/taeyomi
Summary: In Johnny’s defense, he’s never seen Ten drunk; he didn’t think he would drink to the point of wobbling and babbling. That’s how he ends up with a lap full of clingy Ten whining about his costume being stuffy.





	still take you home

**Author's Note:**

> 1- these are not being betaed.  
> 2- i still have no clue of what i'm doing.

Johnny thought he was hallucinating when he got the text.

_u busy?_

He looked out the window of the cafe, noting that the sky couldn’t be brighter. The clock has just hit 3pm, it’s not even dinner time yet. Then why on earth is Ten texting him?

Through his confusion, Johnny types a reply. _studying. why?_

_send me your location, i’ll stop by._

Johnny tenses for a brief moment, not entirely sure why (probably the prospect of seeing Ten less than a week after their previous encounter). He wonders if everything is ok, if there’s a particular reason why Ten wants to see him so early in the day. It’s actually pretty strange to think about Ten out and about at such an hour. Johnny was already used to thinking about him as a creature of the night.

Twenty minutes after Johnny texts him the location, Ten is plopping down on the chair across from him, hair a wild mess, ragged shirt and gray sweatpants.

“Were you running from a horde of hungry zombies?” Johnny inquires, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. 

Rolling his eyes, Ten places his mobile phone on the table. “I need to get me some coffee.” He stands up and walks to the counter, coming back a few minutes later with an iced latte. “Now we can talk. Hey there.”

“Hi,” Johnny greets, pointing his pencil at Ten. “So. Zombies?”

“I was working out,” Ten explains dutifully. “It’s a new habit I’m trying to pick up.”

Humming in acknowledgement, Johnny tries to stop his mind from delving into the information he just received. He didn’t need to know Ten was working out, did he? He pretends Ten just confessed to smoking a fat cigar.

“Good for you.” Johnny says. Silence installs between them, and Johnny silently questions Ten’s presence. Is there anything he’d like to say or was he just… Thinking about Johnny?

“So, what are you up to?” Ten asks, sipping at his iced latte as if he’s casually ran into Johnny, and not specifically requested a gps location.

Johnny squints. “Studying. I told you.”

“Oh, right. Do you want help?”

“Do you know anything about statistics?”

“Not enough, probably.”

There is something odd about Ten. He’s biting his nails, eyes unable to focus on one point. It’s almost like he’s nervous. Johnny frowns.

“Are you okay?”

Ten startles, facing him with wide eyes. “Who, me? I’m…” And then, he downs his eyes, a heavy sigh exiting his body. “Would you like to take a walk?”

 

There was always tad of mystery about Ten. Johnny could tell when he was feeling down, but didn’t know why. He knew there was something at the back of Ten’s mind, bugging, prodding at him, but he couldn’t bring himself to inquire further about it. Johnny didn’t think Ten would appreciate this dude he barely knew prying at his private business. Well, there he is. Looking beaten and exhausted; surprisingly alone. Ten knows a fuckton of people, he’s friends with nearly half the student body. But in moments like this, when he appears to be somewhat vulnerable, Johnny can’t help but wonder if he feels lonely.

The weather is nice, not cold, not too warm. Ten walks with both hands in the pockets of his sweatpants, gazing ahead, not quite paying attention. Johnny is not sure if he should start a conversation.

Ten does it for him. “What did you want to be when you were a child?”

That’s not what Johnny was expecting, but okay. “Me? Well… A fireman?”

Ten chuckles. “Seriously?”

Johnny nods, “Seriously. There was this cartoon, I don’t remember the name but the characters were firemen, and I thought that going down that pole was so badass.” Ten laughs harder. “Then I decided to be a policeman. Then a magician-”

“Shut up!”

“Lastly, a lawyer. Not sure if I’m gonna get that one, but I’m trying. What about you?”

Ten is still laughing at Johnny’s expense, but he manages to reply. “I've always wanted to be an actor.”

Johnny had guessed as much. Ten is majoring in Fine Arts.

“Always?”

Ten hums, smiling to himself. 

“Did you try to pursue it?”

At that, he snorts. “It’s a path that leads to disappointment, Johnny.”

It’s weird hearing those words from Ten. In a way, they don’t even feel his own. Johnny wonders how many times he’s heard them. How many people have tried to convince him of what he’s saying.

“That’s not true,” Johnny says. 

“Of course it is. People tell kids they can dream of being whoever they want to be, but we all know that’s not how it works.” 

Ten sounds so sure of it. Johnny blinks, asks himself if that was really what was on Ten’s mind when he texted earlier.

“Did you have a good day?” He asks, because it feels like an easier question.

“Uneventful. Attended a lecture, worked out. You?”

“Attended a lecture, worked on a project, studied.”

“Such a hard worker,” Ten teases, and Johnny scratches the back of his neck. “I interrupted your study session, didn’t I?”

“I was almost done,” Johnny lies. He’d just set camp at the cafe when his phone chimed with Ten’s text.

Keeping his eyes on Johnny for a bit longer than usual, Ten smiles at him. The kind of smile that reaches his eyes, turns them into little sparkly half-moons and nearly melts Johnny’s heart. “Thanks for walking with me.” Ten’s fingers surreptitiously find Johnny’s, squeezing his hand, and those damned butterflies are back in his stomach. “You’re the real mvp, big guy.”

 

\--

 

He’s in the middle of a lecture when he gets the notification of a new text. Johnny’s been getting them all day, at the most random moments. It’s odd, but in a good way. Usually Ten texts him when he wants a sleepover (or a hookup since they've upgraded their arrangement), but ever since they went on that very strange walk, Johnny’s been hearing a lot more from Ten in the form of text messages and casual pictures. Right now, Johnny unlocks his phone to find a selfie in which Ten is wearing bunny ears. _Bunny ears._ Where the hell did he get those and who the fuck allowed him? 

Johnny swallows thickly, trying to place his attention back on the lecture, but there’s a new text and another picture attached.

It’s Ten. Wearing cat ears.

_bunny or kitten?_

Johnny wants to know which deity he offended in his past life. He wants to know what horrible crime he committed to deserve such punishment. He’s trying to live his life humbly, peacefully, but there are just so many _distractions_. He tries to wait until the lecture is over to reply, but the texts keep coming.

_johnny?_

_answer me!!!!_

_bunny or kitten?bunny or kitten?bunny or kitten?bunny or kitten?bunny or kitten?_

_WOW NVM I’M GOING AS LUKE SKYWALKER_

Going? Going where? Johnny thinks he’s missing something. Is Ten choosing a costume? He shoots a furtive glance towards the professor and quickly types up a question.

_going where?_

Ten replies in less then a minute. 

_taeil’s party, he didn’t mention? he’s inviting a lot of people, i’m surprised you didn’t know. so, bunny, kitten, or luke skywalkr?_

Johnny replies ‘luke skywalker’ because it’s the safe choice.

By the time he’s heading to the cafeteria for dinner Taeil calls him about the party. Seems like Johnny will have to find a costume.

 

\--

 

For Taeil’s party, Johnny dresses as a _cereal_ killer because he had an old box of fruit loops and some red paint around. So Johnny just tapes the stained box to his chest and calls it a costume. It’s lazy, he knows it, but also quite clever. The first one who spots him is Taeyong (not drunk yet by some miracle).

“Please tell me that’s not your costume,” he says, disgust pretty evident in his tone. Taeyong is Rock Lee from Naruto, thick eyebrows drawn in black ink.

“What’s the matter? I’m a cereal killer!” Johnny giggles. “Get it? Cereal killer!”

Clearly giving up on Johnny, Taeyong abandons him, muttering “God, you’re so lame” as he leaves.

It’s Ten, fully dressed as Luke Skywalker, who finds Johnny. He looks nice in all white and a cheapass lightsaber in hands. He’s smiling as he barrels into Johnny, hands gripping at Johnny’s shoulders.

“Oh my god, Taeil is talking to Sicheng!” Ten announces. 

Johnny’s eyes widen. “What? He invited Sicheng?”

Ten nods, lacing his hand with Johnny’s as he yanks him, guiding Johnny through the people dancing in Taeil’s living room. “Sicheng is the reason behind this party! Come!”

The music is loud and there’s not enough light around, but Johnny just lets Ten pull him along. He likes how Ten’s hand feels around his, a firm, confident grip. His palm is a bit sweaty, but Johnny doesn’t mind.

“There!” 

Johnny squints, spotting Taeil and an unknown person hanging by the kitchen door. Taeil is… Spider-man? And the other one, who must be Sicheng, is wearing a white doctor jacket. They look pretty into their conversation, and Taeil looks happy.

“Isn’t it cool? Taeil has been waxing poetic about this guy for months!”

“Yeah, pretty cool.” Johnny is happy for Taeil. He hopes this goes somewhere. 

Turning back to Ten, he asks, “Have you been here long?”

“Huh?” Ten is a little distracted, he barely looks at Johnny, grinning in the direction of Taeil and Sicheng. His cheeks are a little tinted, and Johnny is almost certain he’s tipsy. His hand is still holding Johnny’s. “Not long, we had an issue with the boys next door.” Ten rolls his eyes, finally facing him. “Those two are the antichrist, seriously, they threw eggs at our front door.”

Sometimes Ten mentions the neighbor’s kids, who terrorize him and his housemates with silly but rather inconvenient pranks.

“Oh no, those rugrats!” Johnny exclaims.

“Yeah, so we had to clean it up. After chasing them around, of course. I swear to god they’ll give Yuta a heart attack one of these days.”

Johnny snorts, watching with fondness the way Ten’s nose wrinkles as he retells the boys’ latest shenanigans. It brings a smile to his face. Honestly Johnny doesn’t remember the last time he felt so… Whole just listening to someone talk. He doesn’t know if it’s the way Ten speaks, his voice, how he looks at Johnny, his hand in Johnny’s… It’s… Something. Something about Ten makes him feel whole. Warm. Makes Johnny want to hold him close, brush his cheeks and place butterfly kisses all over his face until he giggles. Something about Ten makes Johnny want to _be_ with him. It’s… Strange. Unfamiliar. 

He’s had a girlfriend in high school. They dated for three months, but Johnny didn’t… He didn’t feel like this. Like every step she took in his direction was another heartbeat skipped. He doesn’t remember holding her hand as if it were a lifeline. 

Ten is not even his boyfriend. They’re not even going out. It’s not fair that this is the person Johnny ends up falling head over heels for. _Why god, why._

 

Ten gets drunk even before Taeyong, which is a true feat. Jaehyun, having learned his lesson, is supervisioning every drop of alcohol that ends up in Taeyong’s cup. That’s more than Johnny ever did. Now Ten was left completely unsupervised. 

In Johnny’s defense, he’s never seen Ten drunk; he didn’t think he would drink to the point of wobbling and babbling. That’s how he ends up with a lap full of clingy Ten whining about his costume being stuffy. 

Johnny doesn’t even remember how he ended up on Taeil’s couch. It probably started with Kun and this freshman named Yukhei, who kept screaming in people’s faces. Kun was sober, but Yukhei was not, and Ten, despite being drunk himself, insisted on taking care of Yukhei.

“Why did you give alcohol to my son?” Ten kept asking, and Kun (not a very patient guy, Johnny quickly noted), pushed Ten next to Yukhei on the couch, barking at Johnny instructions NOT to take his eyes off those two while he did whatever. Soon enough Ten was climbing Johnny and Yukhei was asking WHERE’S HIS PARTY PEOPLE right into his ear.

“It’s hooooooooot, Johnny!” Ten is crying. There’s a knee dangerously close to Johnny’s crotch; he tries to rearrange Ten’s position without damaging anything.

“I know, but you gotta calm down!” Johnny answers, tugging Ten to his side. He’s incredibly strong for a drunk person.

It feels like a whole hour has passed when Kun returns, pulling a visibly upset Yuta along. Johnny didn’t know Yuta and Kun knew each other, though it makes sense. Yuta lives with Ten, and Kun is Ten’s friend. 

“I’m taking Yukhei back to his building, you’re taking Ten home.” Kun orders, and Yuta’s hands fly to his head in despair. It’s pretty obvious he’s not done with this party.

“But Ten is fine!” Yuta retorts. 

“He’s not fine, he was trying to undress earlier!”

Amid it all, Ten claims, “I don’t wanna go with Yuta.”

Yuta points at him. “See, he doesn’t need me!”

“You’re his housemate, Yuta!”

Ten snuggles into Johnny’s side, and says, “I wanna go with Johnny.”

“Then it’s settled! Johnny will take Ten home. Here,” Yuta tosses a set of keys to Johnny. “Don’t wait up for me.” He turns on his heels and disappears among the people. Kun calls after him, but he’s far gone.

Johnny doesn’t really know Kun, and he looks kind of scary, so he timidly holds his hand up before speaking. “I can take him home, you don’t have to worry.”

Kun spares Johnny a glance before studying Ten, who’s trying to make himself at home on the couch. He’s a bit sleepy, insistently tugging at his jedi attire, quietly mumbling into Johnny’s shoulder. It’s endearing. Johnny leans a bit closer, and Ten latches onto his arm.

“Alright,” Kun acquiesces. “Text me when you put him to bed. And don’t you try anything funny.”

After Kun types his number into Johnny’s phone, he carries a half-asleep Ten outside. Ten babbles the whole uber ride to his house. Johnny has no idea what he’s talking about, he just runs his fingers through Ten’s sweaty hair and keeps him from falling completely asleep.

Getting to the house, Johnny carefully lays Ten on the couch and hurries to find a blanket (he barges into the first room he finds and secures a Slytherin comforter). He makes sure Ten is comfortable, positioning a cushion behind his head. Johnny figures Ten will wake up thirsty, so he pours water into a cup and places it on the coffee table. Glancing at the Ten burrito he just assembled one more time, Johnny deems it good enough to text Kun.

The moment Johnny turns around and prepares to leave, something grips at his pants, stopping him from taking a step.

“John-” Ten mumbles. “Johnny? You-- Staying, you...”

“What, Ten?” Johnny kneels next to him. “Just go to sleep, alright? Yuta will be home soon.”

“Yuta…” Ten frowns lazily, mustering enough energy to open his eyes and look at Johnny. “No Yuta. Johnny. You’ll stay.”

Well, that wasn’t his intention. And Johnny is pretty sure that scary fella Kun wasn’t counting on Johnny setting up camp. 

All of a sudden Ten is wrestling out of his blanket cocoon, grabbing Johnny’s hand and bringing it to his chest. He mumbles something unintelligible before dozing off for good.

Well. That settles it.

Johnny spends a minute or two battling his own thoughts, deciding if he should stay or go. This is not his house, he’s never before been invited into Ten’s house. Somehow, it feels a bit invasive to be here before Ten properly invites him. On the other hand, Ten is hammered. Kun was right, he had to be brought home and Johnny was the only one willing to do it.

Letting out a defeated sigh, Johnny rips the Fruit Loops box out of his chest and sits on the floor, hand still locked with Ten’s. Ten is already deep in sleep, his breathing even and steady. Johnny could carefully extricate his hand from Ten’s grip if he wanted. It would be easy. 

Johnny looks at him once more, heart getting warmer and warmer the longer he stares at Ten.

Fine. He’ll stay. Just for a few minutes.

**Author's Note:**

> can you tell i'm writing a winil fic in this verse? lol   
> OH talk to me on twitter, i'd like some more nct frenssssssss @zhangchans


End file.
